CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Teenager Sive Speelman might have been South Africa's version of "Eric the Eel" at the Sochi Olympics, the feel-good story of the games.

The 18-year-old slalom skier is from a rural and impoverished corner of a country where snow is rare and Alpine skiers even rarer — especially ones that are black. But despite qualifying for a place at the Winter Games, he won't be competing.